Travelling! - 旅行！
As is the case for many people, the new year provides a time to reflect on the year which passed, and to set goals for the year ahead. In terms of our Mandarin level, we have been given the target of reaching HSK 4 by the end of our stay in China. As our first semester ended, we sat the HSK 3 exam, along with some other exams for our other classes. I feel like my exams went well, however I am still yet to find out how I did! Hopefully I will have passed HSK 3, and can focus on HSK 4 during the second semester.
Once our exams finished, our holidays started which last for almost two months! These holidays are for the Spring Festival, (春节) also known as Chinese New Year. Unfortunately, I won’t actually be in China for Chinese New Year, which falls on February 5th this year. Instead, I will be travelling around South East Asia along with my fellow scholars Jack, Ross and Liam.
We had two weeks of holiday before our first flight, so we used these two weeks to prepare for our big trip. We quickly realised that a lot of planning is required for a five week holiday, and that said planning is a lot harder when your mum isn’t doing it for you. Despite that we successfully managed to book everything, and we counted down the days until we left.
We finally left Tianjin late at night on the 18th, heading to Beijing airport for a flight to Hong Kong the next morning. As all of the destinations on our trip are above 25 degrees, we packed according to the temperatures of these places. This meant turning up at Beijing airport in shorts and t-shirts, while it was below freezing outside, which elicited a lot of strange looks from the Chinese locals. Very quickly, I learned an important lesson about travelling - no matter how much you prepare, something will inevitably go wrong. We arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare, printed off copies of all out our documents, however just as we were about to go through security the lock on my bag broke, meaning I couldn’t get into my passport and boarding pass. This required some quick thinking - finding a pen and stabbing open, and then ripping apart my bag. Still full with adrenaline from the stress, we made it to our gate with a couple of minutes until it closed!
We soon arrived in Hong Kong (香港), and I was instantly amazed with the city. I had never seen such a busy city, where it seemed as though something was going on everywhere you looked. The history of Hong Kong is very interesting, and although now technically being a part of China, it is incredibly different from the other cities I have visited on the Chinese mainland. The main reason for this was because the island was formerly occupied by the British, and therefore has a lot of obvious British influence. This includes place names such as Aberdeen and Edinburgh, the trams which operate throughout Hong Kong, the fact that most people speak English as well as Cantonese, and the abundance of Marks and Spencer’s shops (商店).
One of the best parts of Hong Kong is the food scene. Before coming to China, I expected Chinese food in China to be somewhat similar to the Chinese food I was used to back home. However, Chinese food in Scotland is far more similar to the Cantonese food found in Hong Kong. Undoubtedly, the best meal I had in Hong Kong was at a restaurant called Tim Ho Wan. The restaurant is internationally famous as being one of the cheapest Michelin starred restaurants in the world. A full meal with dessert and a drink cost less than £8!
The iconic tourist attractions of Hong Kong also definitely lived up to the hype. We hiked up Victoria Peak, and watched the sunset from an observation deck. Victoria Peak offers some of the best views of Hong Kong, as you can see both the skyscrapers on Hong Kong Island and Kowloon.
The other big tourist attraction in Hong Kong, is to take a trip on a cable car, which takes you up to see the Tian Tan Buddha. The cable car has glass flooring, and offers great views of the waters below.
After Hong Kong, our next stop was the Filipino island of Cebu, which couldn’t have been more different from Hong Kong. It was a bizarre feeling going from an urban metropolis to a small town with only a few shops nearby.
The main attraction of Cebu are the crystal clear waters, and spectacular beaches (沙滩). We took advantage of these clear waters, going snorkelling on several occasions. We managed to spot turtles, bright blue sea stars, sardines and many other things.
Taking advantage of the weather, we frequently took trips to the nearby beaches. One day we visited a trip, which is more popular with locals than tourists, which meant we attracted a fairly large amount of attention. Of the many people that came and up asked for pictures with us, one family ended up inviting us to eat with them. The family members lived in various parts of the island, but all gathered together to celebrate a birthday (生日). We got the chance to try some traditional Filipino food prepared by them, which tasted amazing!
On our final day, we travelled to the very south of the island of Cebu, to swim with whale sharks. Fortunately, whale sharks are harmless so you can go within touching distance of them. Initially, the feeling of a shark brushing past you was rather scary, however you quickly get used to it.
The month of January ended with yet another flight, which seems to be a never ending occurrence. This time, we flew from the Philippines to Bali, Indonesia, where my next blog will begin.